Glossary

Internet meme  (a) A group of digital content units sharing common char-
acteristics of content, form, and/or stance. For instance—photos featuring
funny cats with captions share a topic (cats), form (photo + caption), and
stance (humor). (b) These units are created with awareness of each other—
the person posting the “cat with caption” image builds on the previous cats in
the series. (c) These units are circulated, imitated, and/or transformed via the
Internet by many users. Internet memes are multiparticipant creative expres-
sions through which cultural and political identities are communicated and
negotiated.

Meme  A term introduced by the biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book
The Selfish Gene. Dawkins defined memes as small cultural units of transmis-
sion, analogous to genes, which are spread from person to person by copying
or imitation. Examples of memes in his pioneering essay include cultural arti-
facts such as melodies, catchphrases, and clothing fashions, as well as abstract
beliefs. Like genes, memes are defined as replicators that undergo variation,
competition, selection, and retention. At any given moment, many memes are
competing for the attention of hosts; however, only memes suited to their
sociocultural environment spread successfully, while others become extinct.

Virality  A diffusion process in which a certain message (such as a catchphrase,

video, or image) spreads from one person to another via digital and social
media platforms. The process is characterized by great speed (the number of
people exposed to the “viral” message increases dramatically in a short time),
and with broad reach (achieved by bridging multiple networks). The propa-
gated message is often defined as “viral content” (e.g., “viral video”). When
viral content lures user-created derivatives in the form of re-mix or imitation,
it can be described as “memetic.”
Prevalent Meme Hubs

4chan  An imageboard website on which users upload and discuss visual im-
ages. It is divided into multiple channels, or boards, with particular content
and guidelines. The most popular board is “random” (also known as “/b/”),
which is notorious for its wild, aggressive, and often rude style and content.
Memes constitute an important facet of 4chan, serving as an integral part of
many discussions. 4chan is also a major hub of the hacktivist group Anony-
mous. See http://4chan.com/.

Tumblr  A microblogging platform on which users upload short posts to a

profile known as a tumblog. Tumblr also functions as a social networking site,
in which Tumblrs “follow” each other. Most posts are constituted of images,
many of which can be defined as memes. See http://www.tumblr.com.

Reddit  A content aggregation site that consists of user-generated news links.

These links are voted up-or-down by the community members, tagged as “red-
ditors.” It contains subreddits—boards dedicated to various topics. It is known
as a “lefty” or “geeky” hub of Internet culture and memes. See http://www
.reddit.com/.

178  Glossary